Chapter 1: Package
by ill-n3utr1l1z3r
Summary: One incident at school can change one's life, especially in times of war and hatred. Read and find out more.
1. Chapter 1

Saragui Kaio, who is 17, lives in a small town outside of Tokyo called

Yokohama. This teen aged boy's life is about to change dramatically. His mother

died when she was giving birth to Saragui, miraculously, Saragui survived. He

now lives with his father, who is now a drunkard. Ever since his mother died, it

seemed that his father, whose name is Shikogu Kaio, has always blamed the

death of his wife on saragui. Saragui's hose is on the outskirts of Yokohama. Its

a beautiful grassland full of life and energy. The year is 2176, a year of

mechanics that run everything. At this very moment a war is taking place

between the Federation of Unity and the Tokyo Armed Forces ( TAF ). This

very war started about 18 years ago and hasn't even showed and inkling of

stopping anytime soon. No one knows why this war has started in the first place.

Saragui's best friend is an cute and idealistic young girl named Sasaku, sasaku is

one year younger then saragui, but she has the same classes as he does in high

school. The high school which they go to is run by the Federation, who won't

relinquish the power of the surrounding area of Tokyo. Now let's begin, shall

we?

Saragui wakes up slowly and painfully out of bed. " oh my back, I can't believe i

actually work THAT hard at school yesterday, I HATE school!" "SARAGUI,

get down here right now!". yells the hangoverd father. Saragui has two choices,

number one being...take his bag and stealthily climb out the window on his left

and down the rusted gutter and grab his skate board and head off to school. Or

number two, which is go down stairs and put up with his father and either get

bent or yelled at. "..." , pauses saragui. Down he goes out the window, not

wanting to listen to his father's bitching anymore. He grabs his skateboard and

heads to school.

" Get out here right now!", yells Shikogu right outside saragui's room. Shikogu

then kicks the door open. leaving a hole in the door where he just kicked. "

Where the hell are you?" questions that father. He suddenly clasped his chest

and falls on the floor n the middle of saragui's room holding a bottle of Sakai. H

suddenly vomits profusely on the floor where he lays. " where are y...", his

voice fades away and he lays face fist in the large pile of vomit on the floor.

"Sasaku?""here", replied the student."Yoki?", " here ", replied yet another

student." Saragui?", there was no reply. " Saragui are you here?", asked the

teacher. There was no reply yet again." Saragui! There is no sleeping in the

classroom", saragui slowly lifts his head from the desk; " What?", asked saragui

sarcastically. " Do you want me to call your father again?", yelled the enraged

teacher. Saragui's eyes widened, " no, i don't; and you wouldn't dare to do it

again". Before the teacher could reply the alarm rang out through the school. A

voice comes over the intercom, " We have a major problem, everyone stay calm

and resort to code 42, the TAF are attacking!". Before the teacher could

organize everyone to go to the bomb shelter in the basement, the whole school

was in disarray. At this time, everyone was scrambling downstairs. Saragui

couldn't help to stop and think, " Why would they attack a high school?". He

bolted out the door and began to run downstairs to catch up with sasaku. When

he met with sasaku they were on the first floor."oh shit, sasaku i forgot

something. It's very dear to me and I can't bare to lose it!". " no saragui, you

can't go back now. We have to get to safety". Saragui was already off up the

stairs, saragui didn't hear a word sasaku said on of account of all the sirens

blaring around him.

The classroom door now slams open. "where's my board?", asked saragui to

himself. Gun shots are now heard off in a distant classroom, followed by a

scream and a screech. " found it!", said saragui as he picked up his skateboard

from behind the teacher's desk. He then bolted down the stairs to the bomb

shelter.

"OK, now I'm going to take attendance", said the teacher as one of the students

turned on the light. She then got through all the names but one, saragui's. "

Where is saragui", said the teacher as she began to panic, which then started to

upset a few of the other students. " Saragui went back to the class room to get

something, i tried to stop him but i don't think he heard me.", said sasaku. The

enormous door then closes and sasaku begins to cry. " we need to get him!",

yells sasaku through her tears. " It's too late, he's a goner.", replied a student in

the corner. " I'm sorry sasaku, we can't risk being caught", said the teacher as

she tried to console sasaku. Sasaku then headed into a corner to cry her feelings

away.

Down the stairs saragui went. Through the hall , then he took a left. " UMPH ",

said a TAF soldier wearing full armor and wielding a semi-auto plasma rifle

series 2015. " Huh, who are you?", asked the soldier in puzzlement. Before the

question was finished, saragui was already 50 feet ahead of him, in a full sprint.

Still exhausted from the run upstairs to get his board, he took the long way

around to the shelter. As he turned another corner, saragui got a glimpse of

another soldier. The soldier saw him and began running towards his direction.

Saragui quickly ran into a nearby classroom and hid in the closet. He pushed

books and other materials away so he could sit. Still gasping for air, " who are

they, and what do they want?". Saragui suddenly became fully alert. The door

slowly opened, " I'll check in here", said a voice of a TAF officer. Saragui

closed his eyes and though of his mother. He never knew his mother and the

only thing he had was a picture of her in his wallet. He then opened his eyes and

he looked through a hole in the closet door. The TAF officer bagan to leave the

room. "...", paused saragui. A book that was slightly off balance fell and made a

thud near where saragui sat. " oh, shit!", wispered saragui. " Freeze, don't

move", rasped the TAF officer as he stepped back into the room.

" Sasaku, we want to help, but we can't", said the teacher calmly. " You won't

even help your own classmates...you...you...you bastards!", swore sasaku. "

There is no reason the say this stuff, we are safe", said the irate teacher. " We

are, but saragui isn't and id everyone believes the teacher, you can all go to

hell!", screamed sasaku.

" Step out slowly, and i won't have to resorted to shooting you.", said the TAF

officer who was cool and calm. He lifted his gun and aimed it at the closet. " Get

out of there now or I'll have to use what's in my power to forcefully remove you,

it's your choice, saragui". Saragui's eyes became the size of baseballs." How the

hell did he know my name?". Saragui rose and opened the door. " Get on the

ground now", commanded the officer. " I'm unarmed, and how do you know

my name?". Saragui then was forcefully thrown to the ground. " Don't speak",

said the TAF officer. Saragui was then handcuffed and being led out the door. "

My board!", said saragui realizing that he left it in the closet. " What?", asked the

officer who was beginning to get impatient. " My skateboard is in the closet, it's

important to me, i really need it", begged saragui. "Sit down and shut up",

saragui was then placed in a chair as the soldier went to the closet. The officer

went to the closet and opened it, he searched for the skateboard and found it

after a minute of scrutinizing the closet. " This is it right?", asked the officer

politely. Saragui nodded, and a huge smile came on the officer's face. The

soldier then tossed the board into the air and shot it several times with his gun,

shattering it into millions of tiny splinters of wood. " You son of a bitch, when i

get out of these you're a ...". The officer ended the conversation with a punch to

saragui's face. The officer then dragged saragui from the room.


	2. Chapter 2: Package

Chapter 2

" Shhhhh everyone!", said the teacher quietly. The only thing that could be heard was sasaku

sobbing quietly in the back corner of the shelter. One minute went by and to everyone it seemed it

was ad infinitum torture, especially sasaku. The steel door opened slowly. the teacher was the first

one out the door. " Well, it seems they left. I can't hear any gunfire or shouting. Now, everyone look

for the body of saragui ". Everyone froze and all their eyes increased in size of about a baseball.

Sasaku realized what the teacher just said. She jumped up and with the tears still running down her

face she ran passed everyone and out the door to find saragui. She knew he wasn't dead; no, that

would be too easy for him. He wouldn't let himself be killed.

Sasaku went through the halls alone, even when the teacher told the class to walk with a partner

forsafety reasons. Sasaku looked at the walls of the walls in amazement. " I've never seen so many

holes in my life!". She began to think; " Why would they even think of attacking a high school. I don't

get it?" She then turned the corner heading towards the cafe. One room caught her eye. Something

was on the floor that intrigued her. She then opened the door and gasped in horror. " No! I can't

believe this; he's gone, he's really gone". A few more tears began to run down the already soaked

face of sasaku. At this moment another student came rushing into the room. Pant " What's wrong? I

heard you crying...again". questioned an already confused student. This students partner then came

rushing into the room. " What happened?", said the partner of the first student as he stared at the

millions of splinters of what was once saragui's skateboard. " Saragui loves his board, he would

never let this happen to it. So, we need to go back to the teacher and tell her what we found". Both

students looked at each other and nodded and headed to find the teacher, leaving sasaku behind to

stare at the splinters on the floor.

There was a bang at the door. Bang Bang "Get up kid, the president wants to talk to you", said

the officer. " Oh man, my nose is killing me, where am I?", muttered saragui. " TAF headquarters,

you idiot" , said the same officer. Saragui stood up, he then looked about the room. He noticed that

the wall were made of concrete. Saragui then grabbed the door handle and tried to open the door

only to fail. " Hey, the door's locked". " It's supposed to be, it's for keeping the prisoners from

escaping you imbecile", laughed the officer from the other side of the door. " prisoner?", asked the

puzzled saragui. " why am I a prisoner?". The officer had only one response; " you'll find out", then

he chuckled. " Stand back, I'm opening the door", warned the officer. Saragui took a few steps

back, then the door slowly opened. Now a gun was pointing at saragui's head, all saragui could do is

stand there. The officer cuffed saragui, " Follow me", said the officer. While the officer was escorting

sasagui, saragui examined his surroundings. Everything was mechanical; from the medics to the food

suppliers. He noticed one room with the sign " Fixation " on the front. He took a quick peek through

the window to see a soldier being repaired. " Androids?" thought saragui. Saragui continued to walk

along side with the officer who had his left hand on his gun at all times. To saragui, walking down this

hall seemed like a death wish. He couldn't help to think that he was being executed, but he knew he

wasn't. Chills ran down saragui's spine as he stopped at the door leading to the president's quarters.

The officer ran a security card through a slot on the left. Proceeding was a light beep and a sound of

the door unlocking. The officer opened the door and lead saragui into the room. Then the officer

pushed saragui forward, making saragui stumble a little bit. Saragui lifted his head slowly after

stumbling. Everything seemed to stop when the president stood from his chair. " What is your

name?", asked the calm president. " Sa..sa...saragui,sir", fumbled saragui as he tried to say his name.

" And your last name?". " Kaio sir ", said saragui more calmly this time. The president then moved

from his chair to in front of saragui. " You see, I already knew this, I've been keeping an eye on your

school fr new candidates", said the president. Saragui couldn't but think why would they do that? "

You were caught in the fight at the high school, weren't you?", asked the president. saragui nodded

slowly trying to keep eye contact. The president chuckled, " You see, I knew that too". " Well, I

have an offer for you. Do you want to know what it is?", said the president. Saragui nodded again. "

of course you do, well, you're going to fight for TAF; you're going to have to fight for your freedom.

First, you're going to be put into a simulator and if u die, well, good luck in the real life". Saragui's

almost passed out. He became lightheaded and a million thoughts raced through his mind. Saragui

wanted to ask a few questions, but before he could get a word out the officer dragged him from the

president's quarters and headed in the directions of saragui's " Home Sweet Home".

" Sasaku, dinner's ready", yelled the mother up the stairs to sasaku's room as she was wiping off

her handson her apron. There was no reply this time. " It must be saragui, after he went 'missing',

she hasn't been the same. It's only been a day and a half and she didn't eat breakfast or lunch today.

The mother then headed upstairs to have a talk with sasaku,. Sasaku's mother is divorced for 5 years

now and her husband recently moved to America to continue his neurological surgery.

There was a knock at sasaku's door. Knock knock " Sasaku, can I come in?", asked the mother.

Without a reply, the mother slowly stepped into the room. The mother quickly dodge an oncoming

book, " Come on sasaku, there is no need for that", said the overly calm mother who just got a book

thrown at her. " Did you see the news this morning", asked sasaku. " yes I did and I know you're

sad and that you are angry that you're helpless". As if not hearing a response, sasaku began to talk. "

There was a fight between the TAF and the federation in and outside our school yesterday. The

school is closed indefinitely. Saragui is the only one missing. How come the only one person I have

feelings for disappears? Why does this happen to me? I don't understand". Without saying another

word, the mother wrapped her arms around sasaku and sasaku fell asleep in her mothers' arms.

Ring Ring,There was no response. The phone rang again, yet again, no response. The answering

machine then picked up. Hey Shikogu, I know you're probably at the bar at this moment but, I don't

know if you know this already but, your son is missing. Well, I have to go and help my wife with the

kids. I just wanted to let you know man." The answering machine the beeped and said " that is you

fourteenth new message". The house was cold , damp and nothing was moving.

As sasaku closed the house door behind her an ambulance sped on past her house in the direction

of saragui's house. Realizing what just happened, she ran as fast as she could in pursuit of the

ambulance thinking, " No, it can't be".


	3. Chapter 3: Package

Saragui sat starring at the ceiling pondering.. his visions were interrupted by the banging on the

door. " Hey kid, it's time for training " , said the officer from earlier. Saragui stood up and walked to

the door and opened it. To his surprise the guard was unarmed this time. " Follow me", said the

officer in a cordial voice. Saragui said nothing and did as he was told.

Sasaku stood panting in front of saragui's house. Still exhausted from running, she managed to get

a few words out. " Who...is...in...there?", said the exhausted sasaku. One of the ambulance workers

responded in a pallor manner. " It's Shikogu, i knew him personally. We need to bring him to the

hospital". Without thinking sasaku spoke her heart. ' I never really personally knew shikogu, but from

what I know, he's a drunken bastard. I thought just maybe saragui might be here" said the

disappointed and morose sasaku. As shikogu was being pulled out of the house on a stretcher,

sasaku didn't even take a single glance at him. She then turned away and started walking home;

wondering where saragui could possibly be.

The door opened to the training area. " kid, stand over there with the other trainees. Show respect

for the general when she arrives", said the TAF officer as he gave saragui a shove. Saragui stumbled

but managed to keep his balance. He walked to the other trainees and stood at the very end. Fanfare

then began to be played all over the large facility. " What's happening?", asked the confused saragui.

" The general is here, look lively", said saragui's neighbor. " Who are you", asked saragui. " My

name is Roku, I signed up to fight three months ago. I live in Tokyo and I'm 19. How about you?",

responded roku. " My name is Saragui Kaio, and im 17, i also live in Yokohama." All other

discussion was ceased by the arrival of a high class level TAF ship. The door slowly opened and out

came two guards accompanying the general. Saragui was astonished to find out that the general was

a beautiful and elegant women. The general then nodded to answer to questions that saragui couldn't

hear. he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. The general then stood at the other end of the line opposite

of where saragui stood and inspected each trainee. She continued to inspect each trainee until she

reached saragui. Saragui then became very nervous. He stood there shaking like a leaf on a windy fall

afternoon. She stood in front of saragui and stared at him. Saragui slowly lifted his head to make eye

contact. " Those eyes, they're like the devil himself staring into my soul scrutinizing every detail",

thought saragui as he kept eye contact. " You give me your name", demanded the general. " Saragui

sir...I mean ms. or is it Mrs..?', stumbled saragui as he realized what he just said. " You are the first

to begin the training. Enter that pod over there", said the general with a smirk as she pointed to the

pod at their right. As saragui walked to the pod, the general bursted out. " now everyone, watch him

and see what not to do on your first day". Saragui bowed his head and entered the pod. "The only

thing i ever rode was a skateboard not a fucking plane", mumbled the irate saragui," I'm going to fail

miserably". Saragui then sat in the chair and stared at the controls. " I have never seen so many damn

buttons in my life", mumbled saragui out load. he then took one deep breath and did whatever come

to instinct. On his first try he starting the simulation. Outside the pod there was murmurs. " No rookie

has ever start the simulation of their first try. Saragui closed his eyes and kept doing what came

natural. A mechanical voice came over the pod, " simulation start". Numbers and words came on the

screen in front of him. HE then read out load. " Your mission is to fly over Hiroshima and kill

anybody in your path". " What the? Why do I have to kill people. I know it's a simulation ,but if I

fight for TAF then I would have to kill people in real life and I don't know if I can do that; why?"

There was no response from the computer. " Well, i guess i have to get this over with". muttered

saragui. Only a few minutes passed, but to saragui it was an eternity. Commotion came from outside

the pod. " Can he actually fly the Tioken - G42?", said a veteran trainee. Another trainee nodded in

agreement. As the pod rumbled to a halt the mummers continued. Then the was a hiss from the pod

and saragui exited it. Everyone was staring at saragui, he then stared back. Someone in the back

began to clap, causing everyone else to clap and cheer. The general had a smile on her face. She

lured saragui to her and saragui went over to her. " Great job, we saw everything you did. Look,

there's the monitor and your scores. Amazingly you got a perfect score", said the general. " My name

is Tikanata and im glad we meet, we need people like you". Saragui shook Tikanata's hand, "it's a

pleasure", responded saragui. Saragui turned around and then blushed.


	4. Chapter 4

Sasaku tries to open the house door, but it's locked. She tries again knowing that it's useless.

She goes around to the back door. it's slightly ajar and she walks in. "Mom, are you home, asked

the confused sasaku.

Sasaku then walks cautiously up the stairs to her mothers room making sure not to make any

sounds.

" Mom, where are you", asked sasaku out loud.

She opened that door to her mothers room to find no one in sight. She then headed down stairs

and into the kitchen. " Well, mother usually leaves a note on the fridge".

And sasaku's instincts were right, there was a note on the fridge. Sasaku then began to read it out

load.

" Gone to see shikogu in the hospital, I'll be back soon. I love you, love mom".

She then placed the note on the table to her right. Sasaku never cared for shikogu, he would

always yell and sometimes beat saragui for no reason, she has always believed that he blamed

saragui for the death of his wife. Sasaku's stomach then growled and she opened the fridge and

popped some leftover sashimi in the microwave. A few moments passed and she ate her lunch.

After she finished she put her plate in the sink and decided to take a quick nap. She lowered

herself into bed and stared at the ceiling until her eyelids got heavier. She slowly closed her eyes

and fell into a deep slumber.

" Saragui, are you there?', said sasaku as her voice echoed into space.

There was no reply. Sasaku then started into a jog, she didn't care where she was going. She just

wanted to get ' there '. She sped her pace into a run , then into a full sprint. She ran as fast as

possible , but didn't go anywhere. She then sat where she stood and started to cry. She let all her

pain go that was bottled inside of her. " Saragui! I love you! I can't live without you...You were

always there for me, and you had to leave. Why? I don't understand", screamed sasaku.

Sasaku then slowly lifted her head. She saw a faint figure in the twilight ahead of her. " Saragui, is

that you", asked the puzzled sasaku.

The figure said nothing as it continued to walk towards sasaku. The mysterious figure stopped

about twenty yards from where sasaku stood. At that very moment, sasaku realized it was saragui.

Saragui smiled, he began to mumble, but sasaku couldn't make out what he was saying. The all of

a sudden he burst out screaming, " HELP ME!".

The figure then caught fire and screams continued to come from the figured as it slowly went to the

ground. Sasaku tried to run and help him, but it was no use. the figure then laid on the white pearl

floor with smoke rising from his charred body. A black ring surrounded the figure from the sought,

a incomplete burn. the figure sank through the floor in the direction of hell. " No!", screamed

sasaku as she jolted from her sleep. She instantly came back to reality. Realizing she just had a

serious nightmare, she began to ponder. " Is saragui really alive? No! I can't let myself believe that

he's gone. I won't!", thought sasaku as if she was fighting with another personality. Sasaku's

mother then arrived home. " Sasaku, are you here?", asked the mother.

" Yes, I'll be right down', replied sasaku.

Sasaku then stood up and stretched and then yawned. She walked down the stairs with one hand

on the rail beside her. " What's wrong mom?", asked sasaku as he saw the grim face of her

mother's.

" Shikogu's dead, he died while i was holding his hand", replied the mother.

" That bastard disserved it. He would treat his son horribly and drink all day", said the apathetic

sasaku.

" How can you say that? Go to your room, I don't want to see you for the rest of the night",

screamed the morose mother.

With no expression on her face, sasaku when up the stairs and back to her room and locked her

door. She then sat down on her bed and cried herself back to sleep.

" I'm tired, I'm just going to lie here and take a nap", said the exhausted saragui as he yawned.

Just as saragui got ready to lie down, soldiers ran passed his door yelling , " Yokohama is under

attack by the federation!".

" Everyone to your ships and get prepared to fight!", said another soldier.

" My hometown, this is my chance to help fight and see sasaku", said the happy yet sad saragui.

he then ran to the door , opened it and ran down the hall. As he turned a corner he ran into

takanata. " Hey, where do you think your going?", asked the general.

" My hometown is under attack and I need to do something to help", replied the anxious saragui.

" You haven't finished your training, so back to your room, now!", commanded the general.

She then turned around and ran to get to her ship. Saragui then started walking to his room. He

stopped twenty feet from his room and looked around. he saw noone was aroound so he took a

left into the aircraft room. " Which one should I choose", thought saragui.

He needed no secound thoughts , saragui stepped into a AD Fighter jet. At that moment, two

other piolets came barging into the room. " We need to hurry", said the first piolet.

Saragui ducked down. " OK, I'll take this one and you take that one', said the secound piolet as

he pointed to two different jets.

The first jet was a 2025 model bomb carrier. the other jet was the very same jst saragui was in.

Saragui heard footsteps come near the ship and suddenly they stopped. Saragui became very

nerviuos. " This one is too old, it won't keep up with my standards", said the piolet.

A sigh of relief came over saragui as the piolet jumped into another jet. The large door opened for

the jets and both of them were off to fight for the TAF. The pilots left the door open, which

created the perfect opertunity for saragui to leave. Saragui then thought about the simulation. " this

can't be harder then the simulation, I'll do what i did before'.

The jet started and moved into posistion. Out the door he went , on his way to Yokohama.

" Hey sasaku, could you go to the store and pick up a few items. I'm really sorry for yelling at

you. It's been a depressing day', said sasaku's mother.

" Sure, I'll be right down in a minute", replied sasaku from her bedroom.

Sasaku stood up from her bed and went to the window. She clasped to sill in front of her. She

then leant out the window and stared aty the sky. She then took a deep breath. " Sasaku, are you

going to go to the store or not?', asked the now irate mother.

" I'm comming", said the depressed sasaku.

She walked to the door and opeded it. She then walked down the stairs to see what her mother

wanted at the store.

" This jet hadels easy", said the over confident saragui out loud as he put the oxygen mask on.

He then lent over to see what was out the window to his left. All he could see was clouds and faint

glimpses of earth below. He then begin to think that maybe he'll see sasaku in Yokohama. He then

took a glimpse at his compass -- South West -- " OK, well, i'm going in the right direction",

mumbled saragui to himself. A moment passed and saragui began to dose off. " Wait a minute!

Could't i just go home and not have to worry about anything...no i can't, the president said he had

an eye on me and if i run away, he'll track me down for sure", said the dissapointed saragui as he

hit the cockpit window with his fist.

He began to ask himself too many questions that he himself didn't know the awnsers to. In the

thoughts that he was having, he wasn't paying attention and didn't realize where he was going. "

Oh shit! ", said saragui as he veered to his left. " Whew, that was close. i almost smashed into

those trees back there. I need to keep my mind clear and focused", said the surprised saragui as

he passed a mountain that was covered in the clouds to his right. With persperation on his face, he

headed to Yokohama.


	5. Chapter 5

" Sasaku, I want these items; 2 large tuna, 1 loaf of bread, and 1 bottle of sasaki tea.", said the

mother as she wrote them down.

Sasaku grabbed the list and yen from the table and walked outside. With the door still open, she

turned around and said, " I'll be back in a little while".

She then closed the door and started to walk in the direction of the store. It took fifteen minutes to

get to the store at sasaku's pace. As she walked in she was greeted by a bell ringing above her. The

clerk then faced sasaku's direction from behind the counter. He wore a bloody apron, probably

from cutting me in the next room. He also wore a blue shirt under his apron. " Hello, can I help

you?", asked the clerk with a smile.

" I'm fine for now, domo arigato", replied sasaku.

Sasaku continued to stare at the clerk. He was about twenty-five and about 6"2', because he was

behind the counter, sasaku couldn't tell his weight at that moment. " Have I met you before?" asked

sasaku as she tilted her head to the right.

The clerk smiled and replied, " No, I don't think we have miss".

Sasaku smiled back and headed through the isles. She then found the bread in the fourth isle and the

sasaki tea in the eighth. She then headed to the counter. " Do you have any tuna?", asked sasaku

polightly.

" Ah, yes we do. How many would you like?", replied the clerk.

" Only two please", said sasaku as she looked the the glass window of the store.

The clerk then went in the back room and came out a few moments later with a few good sized

tuna. He then placed the tuna in a separate bag and asked," Will that be all miss?"

Sasaku nodded her head. " That will be 1650 yen please", said the clerk.

Sasaku handed the yen over, and as she dropped the yen into the clerks hand, a huge roar came

from over head. Then proceeding the roar came a large explosion. Sasaku then turned and stared

out the window to see a large mushroom shape cloud of smoke and death in the horizon. As she

stared out the window, the clerk ran into the back room. The clicking sound of a lock proceeded

the closing of the back room door. Sasaku then ran behind the counter where the clerk was and sat

down. She sat for five minutes trying not to make a sound or breath. All she wanted now was to go

home to her mother. She then gathered her courage, and stood up. She walked to the window and

looked outside. Everything seemed to be " normal". She gathered her things and went outside. As

she took a right she bumped into a Federation officer." I...I...I'm sorry about that sir.", stuttered the

nervous sasaku.

The Federation officer glared at sasaku. " What are you doing out here? If you stay out here, you'll

be mistaken for a TAF officer even if you're not wearing their colors", scolded the TAF soldier as

he shook his head, his hand still clasping his gun.

" Sir I---".

" Leave now before I have to arrest you", screamed the irate soldier.

Without saying another word sasaku went around the soldier and headed home. Before the soldier

was out of sight, sasaku turned her head to get one llast look at the soldier. She then sped up her

pace, trying to get home quicker.

" Holy Mother of God!", yelled saragui out loud. He stares wide eyed at the large mushroom

cloud of death ahead of him. " I'll have to find a place to land".

He then lent over to see if he can find a place to land with his hands still clutching the controls. He

then notices an open field a half a mile ahead of him; he decides to land. Saragui slowed the jet

down and it starts to descend. " I hope i can land this thing", muttered saragui.

The tires of the jet hit the ground, causing indentations of where the jets hit the ground. The plane

then slows to a halt. Saragui then takes off his oxygen mask and opens the cockpit. He stands and

starts to get out. A shining flash streaks across saragui's eyes, which startles him. He tries to figure

out where it came from. He moves his head slightly, the flash then appears again. It's coming from

under his seat. He reaches under the seat and pulls out an 21st century 9mm pistol. His dad had

something like it so he knew how to use it already. He would sometimes take the gun and go in the

woods for target practicing. He then checked if the safety was on; it was. He put the gun between

his uniform and his belt and then puts the uniform over it to conceal it. " Yokohama is right through

those woods", said saragui as he stared at his obstacle. he then walks into the woods.

It only took fifteen minutes to get all the way through. " Wow, that was quicker then i thought", said

saragui.

Realizing that he wasn't far from sasaku's house, He begins to walk down the street. He then turns

the corner. he wasn't half way around the corner when he had to dive back. Five Federation

vehicles were there about one hundred yards down the street. , but only three soldiers. " Wait a

minute, if there is five vehicles, where are the other two soldiers?", pondered saragui.

After surveying the area he came to the conclusion that is wasn't safe to go to sasaku's, even if he

did have a gun. He turned around and ran back in the direction of his jet. He then begin to think, "

Why did I even come here? I can't go see sasaku and i can't help fight. This is useless".

While trying to figure out the answer to his own question, he continued to run back to the jet. After

ten minutes of running and thinking he reached the end of the woods. As he moved a bush out of his

way, he stopped. Letting the bush snap back into position. He then sits down and peaks through an

opening in the bush. He sees his jet and the two missing Federation soldiers scrutinizing his jet. He

knew that they were part of the Federation because of their colors; blue and white. The TAF all

wore green with a black outlining.He then looked at what he was wearing...he was wearing the TAF

colors. If they saw saragui, they would shurely kill him. He then lied down on the ground to wait for

the soldiers to leave. His eyelids involuntarily shut and he fell into a beautiful world of slumber.

Saragui is seven years old now, he's living with his father. He is at school and in recess at the

moment. " Saragui, race to the swings?", asked sasaku.

Sasaku is six and she lives with her mother. Her father went to America to continue his neurological

studies. Saragui ran up to sasaku. " OK, I'll count though. We race on three", said sasaku.

" One...two..". Soon as she said two, she began to run to the swings across the playground.

" Hey, you cheated", said saragui. Because he was only seven, he was instantly forgiving and he ran

to catch up with sasaku. At this moment his dream changes. He is now thirteen and he has been

going through some tough times with is father. Saragui is in his room sulking. Then there is a knock

at the door. " Saragui, you have a visitor", said his rarely sober father.

By the tone of his fathers voice, saragui knew he was depressed. Saragui said nothing and he

continued to sulk. The door slowly opens and sasaku peaks her head inside. She steps into the

room and slowly closes the door behind her. Still standing by the door, sasaku speaks, " Saragui...".

She then walks to the side of the bed. Then she puts her hand on his back. With her hand on his

back she sits down next to saragui and begins to rub it, trying to console him. Sasaku is twelve, her

emotions for saragui grew over the years. Saragui lifted his head, his face littered with tears. Sasaku

moves closer to saragui, saragui then burrows his face in sasaku's right shoulder. He the begins to

sulk again. Sasaku then hugs saragui and as a delayed reaction, saragui hugs her too. His dream is

then interrupted by the snapping to twigs nearby. His eyes snap open and he reaches slowly for his

gun. Saragui then gets into crouching position. The two Federation soldiers from before cautiously

came through the bushes in front of saragui. One of the soldiers sees saragui. " Hey, there's a kid

over there".

He then points to saragui. As the two soldiers walk towards saragui, saragui stands up with the gun

off of safety and in his hands. Saragui then slowly lifts the gun and aims at one of the soldiers. "

Whoa! wait a minute kid, don;t play with that thing. You can hurt someone with that", said the

nervous one of the two.

" You don't have the balls to do it kid", said the cocky one.

Saragui then moved his aim to the cocky one, he then cocked his gun. " Hey, wait a minute, he's

wearing the colors of --".

The rest of his sentence was cut off by one shot that went through the cocky one's throat and out

the back. He then fell to the ground while gurgling blood limply. The other soldier became more

nervous then before. He starts into a panic, he fumbles for his gun which is in his holster on his right

side. Saragui cocks the gun one more time. The Federation soldier continued to struggle to release

his gun from the holster. Another shot rang through the air. The last Federation soldier hit the ground

limply with a bullet would to the side of temple. Saragui drops the smoking gun and begins to search

the soldiers for any use full items. In one of the pockets of the Federation soldiers he found a key

card that might be useful. He then searches through the other soldiers belongings. When he was

patting him down, he felt something on his leg. It was a combat knife in a holster. He takes the

holster and the combat knife and tries it on. The holster fits perfectly and he places the knife in the

holster. H begins to walk to the jet. The he turns around to get one last glimpse of the soldiers

corpses. He turns around and walks the rest of the way to the jet. He starts the jet not knowing that

he just killed the same soldier that talked to sasaku earlier.

Sasaku walks up to the door of her house. Still holding the groceries she turns the door handle;

the door was locked. " This is strange, mom doesn't usually lock the door", mumbled sasaku.

Then she remembered that there was a key under the rug by the back door. She walked down the

stairs and opened the gate to the back yard. She put the groceries down by the rug and lifted the

rug; the key was there.

She then opens the door and and puts the key back in its original position. She picks up the

groceries and heads indoors, closing the door behind her. " Mom, are you home?", asked sasaku.

There was no reply. She the headed into the kitchen to find that there was no note on the fridge. As

she placed the groceries on the table she was startled by a creaking sound. It was the door to the

basement. She turned around and went to the basement door. She looked down the stairs and the

lights were off. She then turned the lights on and began walking down the stairs. Every step would

creak as she stepped on it, creating a rhythm for sasaku to follow. She reached the bottom of the

stairs and turned to her left to see that her mother was crying in the corner. Sasaku's mother lifted

her head and turned to sasaku. Still crying, she smiled. Sasaku ran to her mother and put her arms

around her. " Mom, why are you down here?", asked sasaku with a caring voice.

" Well, I...I...I heard the news that a bomb exploded near where you were. I thought you might

have been caught or killed and i was really worried", said the mother.

Sasaku said nothing, she continued to stare at her mother with a loving expression on her face. One

tear went down sasaku's right cheek. Sasaku then noticed that her mother was holding a wooden

framed picture. " What's that?", asked sasaku as she let go of her mother.

" Oh, this? It's a picture of you, me, and your father", replied sasaku's mother.

" I remember this picture...we went to America that summer. We went to see the monuments of the

9/11 attack. We had fun and i remember when dad lifted me in his arms ans swung me around".

Sasaku began to giggle. Her happy memories where interrupted by a load roar of a jet above them.

Both of them stayed perfectly still. The noise reached it's climax and then it faded away. " Let's go

up stairs, i made strawberry mouchi while you left", said the mother.

" My favorite!", said the enthusiastic sasaku.

They both stood up and went upstairs. Turning off the lights and closing the door behind them.


	6. Chapter 6

A loud clasp of thunder rang through the air. Rain began to fall; light at first, then it gradually picked up. A young man in a black trench coat holding an umbrella walks up to the 21st century style pawn shop window. He stares inside the window to see six different sized televisions all on the same news channel. The man working at the news desk began his report on the weather. " Today's' forecast is...well...rainy, the humidity is 100 and the temperature for today is 12 degrees Celsius to -----".

He was interrupted by a camera operator, The operator gave him a sheet of paper. The news caster scrutinized the sheet. " This just in... ", said the news caster."

A small crowd began to form around the pawn shop window. The rain continued to fall heavily. " This just in, Earlier today there was a bombing outside Tokyo, in the city of Yokohama. Estimated death count range is between 700 and 850 people. We'll have more on this story later on. Now back to the weather."

The televisions turned off automatically, causing the people to disperse. Only one little girl stood by the window. This little girl was born in Tokyo. She is now five years old. Her favorite thing in the whole world is her stuffed brown bear. She always keeps her bear by her side. Her hair is black and long, as black as the pupils of Lucifer's eyes himself. She wore a small blue raincoat that matched her hat. Her name is Soshi. Soshi slowly walked up to the pawn shop window. Because she was small, she tip toed and then held onto the window sill, still holding the Teddy bear. She pressed her rosy red nose up to the window, creating a small print of her nose from the natural oil that's on her face. Still looking through the glass window, the six televisions that somehow turned off, now turned on unexpectedly. Images of people in fire, screaming for their lives and people being ripped apart by an unknown force showed on the size screens. Soshi stared wide eyed, now paralyzed. More flashed of people infested with nuclear viruses, seemingly melting on the screen. Soshi's mind raced. The teddy bear she was holding slowly fell to the ground. Images still flashed on the screens. In the near distance a car screeched to a halt and a sound of two mid-sized cars crashing followed. Soshi turned around only to be snatched by a figure from a shadow. She didn't scream; she couldn't scream due to the images still flashing as she closed her eyes. The six televisions turned off once again.

A Stream of sunlight peers through sasaku's window. It's been a few days now since saragui went missing. After yawning, sasaku stood from her bed; which was made by her grandfather Leon, who is a carpenter. " How long was i dozing off?", asked sasaku to herself.

She turns to the direction of her clock; which os on her dresser which was also made by Leon. The clock read 7:32 PM. It's been over four hours".

Sasaku quickly stood up and began to try to get wrinkles out of her school uniform that she was too tired t change out of. She then goes over to the window and stares out into space. All that she heard was birds singing their sweet melody and the soft sound of a ambulance in the near distance. She then closes the window and heads downstairs. Downstairs was quiet and Sasaku's mother was sleeping on the leather couch in the living room. Being as quiet as possible, sasaku entered the kitchen. As she entered the kitchen, a clasp of thunder startled sasaku. She then grabbed a notepad off the fridge and began to write: I'll be back before 9. Love Sasaku. After she finished writing, she put the note pad on the table that was behind her. sasaku then went to the door, she grabbed her jacket off the hat rack. She had a horrible habit of leaving things in places they didn't belong. She puts on her shoes carefully and then ties them. Slowly she opens the door to be greeted by the stinging feeling of the rain. The rain began to fall faster. She then took a breath and began to walk to Saragui's house.

Moments later she arrived at her destination. She then walked through the holographic tape creating a broken image of the words " Crime Scene". The front door was partially open and it seemed inviting with it's faint glow peering outside. She then wondered why the lights were on and the door was open. Sasaku walked into the house and without saying another word, she began to look around.


	7. Chapter 7

Sasaku walks into the kitchen of saragui's home. She then begins to rummage through the wooden cupboards, drawers, closets, and anything that could possibly lead to saragui's disappearance. She finds nothing after about thirty minutes of scrutinizing. She turns around to see that see had lead tracks of dirt all over the house, She then takes off her shoes and puts them by the back door. She takes her foot and scatters the dirt in the corners only to keep people from knowing that someone has been in the house. She then heads upstairs in her socks to continue her search. She decides to search saragui's room. As she entered the room she had to put her hand to her mouth. The smell of vomit was till in the air. She walks over to saragui's computer and says, " Computer, turn on."

The computer follows her instructions and turns on. As the computer began to boot, she walked over to the desk beside saragui's bed. She opens it only to be disappointed by the dissatisfaction of not finding anything. She then closed to drowers and walked over to the computer. She sat down in saragui's chair and said, " Computer, open recent Blackbox.class files that were unknown to the user."

The computer then responded, " All recent blackbox.class folders have been removed due to severe kinetic damaged."

" Search through the hard drive", replied the irate sasaku." Man, do I hate computers".

A few moments passed and the computer beeped. A message on the screen appeared saying that one file has been found. Sasaku tells the computer to open it. As she began to read the file a light shined though the window, the light was from a car that was approaching the house. This made sasaku very nervous. She then opened the drawer next to her and grabbed a blank disc. She then inserted the disc into the computer and told it to copy the file as quickly as possible. " Like a computer can actually go faster then what its' processor is", thought sasaku. A meter then pops up on the screen showing the download time of the file. The light continues to shine in the room. Sasaku then hears a noise of a car door slamming shut. The meter then finished loading and she ejects the disc from the computer. She grabs the disc and then tells the computer to shutdown; it complies.

Now her heart is racing as she heads down the stairs to put her shoes on. She grabs the shoes from behind the door and then slips them on. This time, light from a flashlight appeared through the kitchen window. She the jumps behind the door to get away from the light as if it was a beam that could shear her in half if it came in contact with her body. She then opens the back door of the house. She begins to run in a semicircle around the house, along a gated fence to see who has arrived. She then realized that it was a policeman who had arrived. Her tension did not lower at this point. Too much adrenaline ran through her body. Rain still hit her face, stinging it a little. Suddenly dogs begin to bark behind the fence startling sasaku. The policeman appearently heard the noise because he tuned around and flashed the flashlight in her direction. He didn't notice sasku who was crouching down and staying as still as possible. Moments passed and then finally the policeman the tunes back around and then heads into the house. Now that the policeman was gone she began to run in a sprint back to her house in the pouring ran. AS she ran she looked at her watch on her wrist; it read 8:42 Pm. She then takes the disc out of her coat pocket, and then she promptly puts it back. She then arrives at a street, without looking where she runs across the street. The horns of a large truck flared as it sped around the corner going well over the speed limit. She stopped where she stood in the middle of the street due to being stunned. The lights of the truck didn't help. The lights seemed so welcoming. They seemed to smile at sasaku. She continues to stare at the bright headlights of the truck. Her mind became blank and her feet then froze to the ground beneath her. Sasaku didn't struggle because she knew it would be useless. A little girl wearing a blue-rimmed hat holding a teddy bear, the teddy bear had one eye missing stood in front of sasaku. Now time seemed to freeze. Sasaku stared blankly at the little girl. Before sasaku could say anything, the little girl pointed to the sky. Instinctively, sasaku looked up to see…nothing. Nothing was there, only the raindrops of the clouds above. Sasaku was now confused. She looked back to see if the little girl was there, but she was not. The trucks horns the blare passed her, creating a stream of wind water behind it. Now sasaku was totally oblivious to what just happened. Then she begins to muse about what just happened.


	8. Chapter 8

The sound of a jet that was landing roared through the corridors of the TAF HQ. Saragui lifted the cockpit hub as he lands. He stealth fully jumps out of the jet. He then precedes to the only door in the room that he could possible go through. He then leans out of the door to see if anyone was there. He then proceeded to his room. Before he entered his room, he was stopped by a mysterious hand on his left shoulder. Saragui's heart skipped a beat. The hand then turned saragui around. He met with the eyes of his capturer. General Takanata. " Where were you?" asked the irate general. Saragui didn't reply. He stood there staring blankly into space. " Well, this doesn't really matter now. The president needs to see you right now. I'm to escort you to the president's quarters right now." Ashe then escorts him to the front door of the president's quarters. She then swipes her ID card. A conformation beep followed soon after. The door unlocked. Takanata then makes a hand jester for saragui to enter the president's quarters. He slowly takes a few steps into the room. The president stands for his chair and then moves to the front of his desk. The president then begins to chuckle and he sits on his desk and crosses his arms. " I have a mission for you. I need a package delivered to our sister base in Kyoto. I'm sending 3 others to join you on your mission. They'll be here shortly." An officer then handed to president a small box of about the size of a baseball. The president then approaches saragui." Here, take this to Kyoto. Don't let anyone open it by all means necessary. That also means you too", said the president as he handed the package to saragui. " The other 3 have the exact location of the sister base. Just follow them and you'll be all right. Remember, keep the package safe at all times", said the president in a confident voice. Saragui just sighed and lowered his head. Then there was a dull knock at the door. The door then made a clicking noise to indicate that the door was now unlocked. A TAF soldier then entered with his gun by his side. 3 others followed close behind him. The first, person of the three to enter was a tall and dark man. He gave saragui a smirk and stood by the president. The next to enter was a stalk short fellow that kind of waddled when he walked. Finally entered a young and cute girl. Her hair swayed as she entered the room. She gave saragui a smile and he couldn't help but blush. " There are the three pilots that you'll be flying with. Now, would you please I introduce yourselves", said the president as he backed away to give the crew room to greet each other. " My name is Saragui, Saragui Kaio, from Yokohama", said saragui. " Pilot first class, Hiroshi", said the tallest one. " Pilot first class, Tasuke", said the other male pilot. " First class elite, kanata", said the female pilot as she saluted. " You'll be leaving soon, go gear up and meet at the take off point", said the president as he saluted. "Good luck to you all", replied the president as the team of pilots were leaving his quarters.

"OK, we're all geared up. It's time to go", said Kanata as she put her helmet on. Saragui nodded as he entered his jet that he was assigned to. Saragui made sure he was secure in his seat and then started his jet. A screen to his right appeared on the cockpit window. " Saragui, this is kanata. You will leave on my orders. We will head to Kyoto and protect that package." Saragui made a sound of approval. Hiroshi, Tasuke, Saragui, and then Kanata left the take off point and began in the direction of Kyoto.

Minutes passed and nothing was said. Finally, Hiroshi broke the silence. " Hey saragui, I heard that you're the newest pilot. Don't let the newcomer jitters bother you."" I didn't decide to become a pilot you know. I was at school when TAF attacked it. I was taken from my school and I had no consent on whether or not to leave." Saragui became furious. He punched the control panel in front of him. " Hey, boy'o. Don't go and kill yourself now", replied tasuke. Saragui didn't reply. He really didn't care if he died or not at this moment. Hiroshi decided to blurt something out. " Hey saragui, if it's any consolation, I'm not here on my own free will either. Well, I wasn't captured or anything but, my family came from a society that is extremely poor. We live in the middle of Tokyo. We barely have enough to survive. The payment for our home was due and we didn't have the money for the third straight week. The told my family that they had 2 choices. Either I go and become a pilot in the war to make money or we had to leave. There was no other ultimatum. So, I'm here now ". Hiroshi sighed. There was a long silence. A missile missing saragui's left wing by a few feet then interrupted the silence. " Holy shit! What the fuck was that! It almost killed me!" yelled saragui. "We have three boogies at 10 o'clock! By their speed, my guess is that they are elite class jets! Watch your fire and separate. Take all of them out. We must protect our package by all means necessary", commanded Kanata. The four jets broke from formation and separated. Saragui veered right to circle around the incoming Federation jets. Saragui then spots a Federation jet ahead of him. He then gets in range and fires. He misses his target. The federation ship ahead of him then pulls a dodge maneuver and veers away from saragui. Saragui looked at his radar and could not find where he was. Then there was a loud explosion and a picture appeared on the screen beside saragui. "Booya! That's one bastard done, and 2 to go", said Hiroshi. Saragui then circled around the mountain ahead of him to see if he can find a boogie. Before he can find another jet, and another explosion rang through the air. Another picture came on the screen beside him. This time it was Kanata. " Another one down, one more to go guys. Keep a look out." Saragui nodded. He was then startled by enemy fire from behind him. Every move that saragui made the Federation jet matched it and gained ground on saragui. Then all of a sudden, saragui found his opening. He headed straight for the mountain. " Saragui! What the hell are you doing?" said tasuke. Saragui didn't reply. He knew what he had to do. Saragui then sped up. The Federation jet did the same. Just before saragui would crash, he yanked on his flight stick. This causes him to go straight up and an explosion then followed. Saragui looked at the screen to his right. It showed an explosion on the side of the mountain. Saragui couldn't help but laugh. " How could anyone fall for that", he said out loud. "Saragui, you are one crazy bastard', said Hiroshi. Saragui chuckled. " We need to land in order to assess the damage. Follow my instructions and we will meet at the randaview point. Saragui couldn't help but ponder. What's in this package that the Federation wants and how does the federation know and if they know that they are carrying a package of some sort? Or maybe the federation noticed TAF aircrafts and they decided to pursue them. All of these thoughts raced through saragui's mind. He hated not having answers. He hopes that his mental questions would soon be answered.

Sasaku hangs her coat on the coat rack by the front door. She then takes off her shoes and places them by the coat rack beside her. Her hair was dripping with a combination of water from the rain and sweat. Her mother then walks in through the kitchen. " I saw your note. Where did you go this late?" Sasaku didn't know how to answer her mother. "I…ah…needed to go for a walk and think about a few things, that's all". Sasaku's mother smiled and went back into the kitchen. Sasaku took a sigh of relief and went to her room up the stairs. She slowly opened her bedroom door as if suspecting someone to be in there. She sat in front of her computer and inserted her newly acquired disc. The computer made a few grinding noises as it booted up. She began to rummage through the file that she recently downloaded. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Sasaku was then startled by a knock at her door. " Sasaku, I was wondering if you wanted to go for a bike ride with me", said the mother as she entered the room. "Sure, I'll be right down", replied sasaku as she shut down her computer and ejected the disc. She then placed the disc in her pocket. Sasaku then went downstairs to join her mother.

" Hey mom, where are we going to go?" said sasaku. "I thought we could go to the park. It seems the rain just let up. I really like riding in the night. It's so relaxing. They began to ride in the night to their destination. On the way to the park, which was only a 5-minute bike ride, sasaku couldn't help but think what was on that disc and where was saragui. She could really never tell saragui how she really felt for him. She was his friend since early childhood. She didn't want to be like a sister to him. She wanted to be more, much more. While she was drifting off in her mental space, she didn't realize that they reached the park. The both parked their bikes and sat on the nearby bench that was slightly wet. This didn't bother either of them. A moment passed as the two of them sat there and a little girl walked by. Sasaku had to take a ' double take ' in order make sure she wasn't seeing things. It was that same girl that somehow stopped the truck from hitting sasaku just a few hours ago. She then gets a chill that causes her to shutter. Sasaku rubbed her eye, then she turned t her mother beside her. " Did you just see that little girl that walked by holding that teddy bear?" " No, there was nobody, it's just us and the light drizzle of the rain. No one else is here. Are you Ok dear? I think we need to go home. You need your rest. I think you're tired from all the things that happened today". Said the worrying mother. " Yeah, you're right. Lets go home". Both of them got on their bikes and rode into the darkness.


End file.
